On May 12, 2012. the U.S. Department of Labor cut federal funding to hundreds of thousands of US Families across the country. The 2011 unemployment emergency assistance has not been extended into 2012 and benefits are being cut off with little notice. In April fifteen states were cut off from dedicated federal funds, in May eight more states unemployed have been cut off even though they have a remaining balance on their claim. Hundreds of thousands across the country are at risk of losing their homes, apartments, and cars. Families are still struggling while lawmakers refuse to help. Tell lawmakers to rescue families across the country hit hardest by the economic downturn, and act swiftly in extending federal unemployment benefits in 2012.

During this year alone, hundreds of thousands of Americans are expected to be too broke to file for bankruptcy. The average cost to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection, the most common form of consumer bankruptcy, is more than $1,500, according to the most recent research submitted to the National Bureau of Economic Research. Then there are the additional costs on top of this, including fees for mandatory pre-bankruptcy credit counseling and a pre-discharge debtor education course. According to a recent study sponsored by the American Bankruptcy Institute, these average about $85 altogether. As a result, there are anywhere between 200,000 and one million consumers, it is estimated, who will be unable to meet the steep cost of filing. What this means is that many Americans, who have seen their debt spin out of control because of things like job loss, foreclosure or a medical emergency, are now left without their last financial lifeline. Yes, Virginia, there really is a Santa Claus, and the the 2005 Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act, was a gift to make it Christmas morning, every morning, for the Bankruptcy Lawyers, Banks and Credit Card Companies.

As income levels rise, marginal propensity to consume tends to drop. To stimulate economic demand and support individual prosperity, this proposes an equitable SLIDING tax scale on ALL income.

Increase job opportunities for many, in particular poor people, by removing an unnecessary barrier to hiring. If something is not necessary to do a job, it should not be a requirement to get the job!

Since the senate have refused to pass the Buffet Bill- I say we the people vote on it instead, Senators are often quite wealthy & between this conflict of interest & rich lobbyists, there would be little hope that it would pass anyway. So why don't the 99% help to pass a federal bill that needs to happen. What we lack in funding [$$$] we make up for in numbers.

ALEC claims to be non partisan & claims it is not a lobbying group. They are extremely partisan & feed state legislatures with pro big business laws. They should not have a tax exempt status.

Churches are now being run like businesses and are heavily involved in election politics. They now more resemble a corporation and since corporations are now people. They should be required to pay taxes just like "We the people" must do.

Overhaul of our income tax system

We need much more fairness in our tax system. Many people do not even realize that almost 1/2 of our citizens pay ABSOLUTELY NO INCOME TAXES AT ALL! We must insist that everyone share the load. That 46% of the people who pay zero income taxes should be ashamed of themselves. How can we best do that? I suggest that we end ALL deductions and loopholes. If EVERYONE pays the same percentage of income in taxes, that would most certainly be fair. Obviously, the wealthy will continue to contribute, by far, the largest total amount, at least the burden will be shared equally. We must end the so-called earned income credit. Do you realize that we actually PAY some citizens for doing nothing? As I understand it, the government actually sends them a check, rather than the citizen sending the government a check -- that makes no sense at all.

I don't think we give enough assistance to those unemployed. the jobs are not available and the resources are few. If you run out of unemployment what do you do until you find that job you have desperately been looking for. If you run out of savings, 401K and have no retirement fund what is next. You're on the street. Why has the state and federal government droped the ball on the extentions. What if you are not eligible for Social Services!

In most states hourly tipped employees receive considerable less than minimum wage, $2.83 an hour in Pennsylvania, many people think that we receive minimum wage plus our gratuities. Most restaurant employers offer no benefits (must purchase your own health insurance, etc.), and never offer any kind of incentive raises, no matter the length of employment (one year of employment $2.83 an hour, ten years of employment $2.83 an hour). I think that a petition should be put to local state legislatures for all employers who pay their employees less than minimum wage, due to local governments inaction to raise our wages, to require these employers to state, in clear public view of all patrons of the restaurant, that "We pay our employees $_.__ an hour, and they are dependant on gratuities from our patrons for their living wages".

Sign this petition if you want total forgiveness on your soon-to-be-forgiven student loans by not having the federal or state require you to pay taxes on the forgiven amount. There have been many talks on forgiving student loans to stimulate the economy. There is also currently a program through the federal government's Direct Loans that forgive outstanding student loans for those who work in certain professions (such as teaching, civil service, etc) after the individuals makes 120 monthly payments starting in October 2007 while employed in qualified professions. For short, pay your student loans diligently for 10 years and the rest is forgiven. There is also legislation out there forgiving outstanding student loans for the rest of the population provided that the person has paid their loans diligently for 25 years. Sounds great, doesn't it? It is a great relief...but not quite until you see the whole picture. We pay taxes on debt forgiven by private creditors. Since there is no legislation written out there on how forgiven student loan debt is treated, consider it treated just like any other debt--if it is forgiven, it is INCOME to you. If it's income to you, then you MUST pay taxes. There haven't been talks on what happens when 2017 comes, or how these "forgiven" outstanding student loan debts are treated tax-wise (federal and state-wise). These "forgiven" amounts can range from a few hundred dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars. It sounds untrue, but there are many out there who had to defer their loans due to falling to bad times. Just picture that you're on the road to financial freedom once your student loan debt is forgiven (all without having to file for bankruptcy), only for you to owe thousands of dollars worth in federal and state taxes immediately on the year your outstanding student loan debt is forgiven. Sign this petition to ask all legislative parties to treat forgiven student loans as non-taxable.